SANDAKAN – The Education Ministry is looking to resolve the issue of “squatting” schools, or schools sharing the same buildings with others in Sabah where it is most prevalent.
Its Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said that the ministry has allocated at least RM706 mil for this purpose.
The minister also said a total of 23 schools were affected by this issue in Sabah alone.
However, he said the RM706mil allocation was meant for 20 schools.
He said the problem was caused by “ailing” projects, which had delayed the construction or development of the affected schools.
“The Ministry has placed this issue as a priority. We want to solve this issue as quickly as possible to ensure that our students are able to enjoy better education facilities,” he said.
Radzi said this during a press conference after launching SMK Libaran, in Mile 12 here, today. The launching marks an end to SMK Libaran’s 22 years of “squatting” in SK Padas.
He said SMK Libaran is one of the ailing projects that was supposed to be completed in 2019.
Apart from SMK Libaran, Mohd Radzi said SMK Langkon in Kota Marudu, which has been squatting in SK Langkon, is 70% completed, while the rest are in different stages of completion.
He said there are secondary schools such as SMK Libaran that could not offer science stream subjects to students due to the lack of laboratories.
“We will ensure that the process (of project development) will be carried out smoothly, and work closely with the Sabah state government to have all plans completed on time.
“This is a comprehensive approach by the ministry to ensure that we solve squatting schools problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the issue of a lack of residential quarters for teachers, Radzi said that the ministry is facing a unique problem whereby certain places are in dire need of more quarters, while other places had an oversupply.
He said the ministry understood the challenges faced by the teachers, especially those working in rural areas and who are living in dilapidated quarters.
“While we plan for the development of quarters for teachers, we will ensure to plan this right, because there are instances in which these quarters are left empty because the teachers find the location unsuitable,” he said.
“We will put in our best efforts to ensure that the teachers can serve comfortably.” – The Vibes, June 13, 2022.
